Recipe of the Month: Pumpkin Oat Bread

This recipe is my own creation. If you came to my open house last Saturday, this one is already familiar to you. When I made it, I didn't realize I was low on my spices, so I had to improvise a little, and those changes are noted below.

Pumpkin Oat Bread

Ingredients

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (could even be 1/2 teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2/3 cup canola oil

4 eggs

14 1/2 oz canned pumpkin

2/3 cup ground flax seeds

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup old fashioned oats, save some for sprinkling on top of bread 

1. Mix together sugars and spices. Add oil, eggs, and pumpkin. Mix well.

2. Stir in flax, flour, and oats.

3. Spread into 2 greased loaf pans (standard size, adjust baking time if using mini-loaf pans).

4. Sprinkle plain oats on top of batter.

5. Bake at 350* for 1 hour 10 minutes--1 hour 20 minutes.

When I made this for the open house, I was almost completely out of ground cloves, so I added in about 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice and polished off that jar too, so I also added a moderate dashing of Allspice. Still turned out great--this recipe is very adaptable and forgiving. :)

Upcoming Events: Open House

Update on my study/mentor programs: I'm almost caught up with reading my massage magazines--chugging away impressively at a week and a half per magazine. Just 2 1/2 more magazines to read, then I'll be all caught up (until the next one arrives!). Once I'm caught up, I will be able to pore my attention into these programs. I feel confident that I can be ready to launch and begin really marketing for the study/mentor programs by the end of the year.

Ah, the end of the year. It is September now, so be careful--in the blink of an eye, it'll be January!

The tail end of this month marks my 5th anniversary as a licensed massage therapist. I've decided to celebrate by hosting an open house in the office on Saturday, October 8th from 9am-6pm. I plan on having a drawing for at least one free massage. Stop in and get one entry. Bring a friend with you (who is not an existing client of mine) and you both get two entries. Book a massage appointment within the month of October or buy a gift certificate and get another entry. If your friend books their first massage session with me within the month of October, they'll get 2 entries into the drawing. I'll have some light refreshments. This will be a great opportunity to ask any questions you might have about anything massage related, or specific to my business. Or just come in and peek at my new room!

Rumor has it we'll be having an acupuncturist joining the team at Heidi's soon--into my old room downstairs next to my new room. As I find out more information about that, I'll see if he'd like to participate in my open house event as well. 

Are you following me on Facebook? If not, you'll really want to start! As my clients from years past may remember, I had a pretty fantastic offer go out for Black Friday last year. I plan on running the same special (with minor provisions)--but I think I may only be announcing it on my Facebook Page this year--and that's why I'm emailing this post to everyone as well. I'd also love to have this blog be more of a back-and-forth between us, so your comments are always welcome and appreciated. Subscribe to my blog & follow me on Facebook now. You won't want to miss this!!

If the Black Friday tease isn't enough reason for you to follow me on Facebook, try this: I often post my same-day open appointments at $15 off. This is good news for those that aren't able to book in advance due to complicated/inconsistent/irregular schedules. There's often only a few hours' notice for these appointments, so you really have to keep your eye out.